


Trust

by FoundlingMother



Series: Fates Altered (for the Better) [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don’t copy to another site, Gen, Minor Jane Foster/Thor, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Protective Thor (Marvel), Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21720700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoundlingMother/pseuds/FoundlingMother
Summary: "'I thought you might leave.' I thought you might be dead, your revival a figment of my imagination."After Malekith's defeat, Thor and Loki talk.
Relationships: Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Series: Fates Altered (for the Better) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565473
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	Trust

Thor grips the banister, each narrow stairwell step protesting his slow ascent. The creaks do not register above his pounding heart, blood rushing in his ears.

Jane reaches the landing ahead of him, unlocking her flat.

Selvig shoulders past Thor. He touches Jane’s arm. “Wait.” He throws a look back at Thor. “You first.”

“Erik,” Jane sighs.

Chest tight, Thor enters the flat.

Nothing. He sees the trappings of a Midgardian home. Thor does not breathe. He walks forward.

The living room, tucked away in a nook and cluttered as though relaxation is not among Jane’s priorities, comes into view.

Thor inhales sharply through his nose.

Loki sits on Jane’s couch amid decorative pillows, cross-legged, huddled under Thor’s torn cape. Steam escapes the mug he cradles. His sunken eyes slide up Thor, examining him.

Thor crosses the room, looming above Loki. He opens his mouth to speak. No sounds pass his lips. His adrenaline vanishes, a broken dam unleashing a torrent of fatigue. He sways.

“Sit, brother, before your legs collapse beneath your weight. From what I witnessed, that battle taxed even your abilities.”

Without conscious consideration, Thor’s body drops onto the couch beside Loki, jostling him. The seat groans.

“I thought you might leave.” _I thought you might be dead, your revival a figment of my imagination._

Loki tenses. “I considered it,” he admits slowly, thumb tapping the side of his mug.

Thor nods. “Yet, you did not. What made you stay?”

Loki sips his beverage, studying Thor in his peripheral. Thor meets the sidelong gaze. “Would you like the truth or a lie?”

Thor huffs. He slumps back into the couch cushions. “Does it matter? I am not certain I could tell the difference.”

Loki hums, bringing the mug once more to his lips. “I could not conceive a plan that served to benefit me, not with you aware of my survival.”

Thor notes the artificial lightness of Loki’s tone. He stares openly at Loki, whose face twists into a scowl, but he does not speak, nor move to avoid Thor’s scrutiny.

Jane’s shower runs in the background. One of his friends—Selvig, Thor assumes—snores, asleep somewhere on the opposite side of the flat.

Up close, Loki appears wan and haunted. Perhaps near-death cast deeper shadows over Loki’s features, but it is not the first time Thor’s seen it in his brother’s face. His ashen complexion and unbalanced state struck Thor to his core a year prior. Loki’s cheeks are fuller, but not full. Sickness lingers in Loki, and Thor can read in his body the toil of his fight for recovery. Loki’s ghosts are not new, only more numerous.

“I do hope you know you cannot hold to the remainder of your vow.”

Thor’s eyebrows draw together. “What?”

“Your vow to me in the dungeons. ‘You help me escape Asgard and I will grant it to you, vengeance. And afterward, this cell.’ I am under no illusions what remaining here until you returned meant. But you must realize that we are both at Odin’s mercy. Upon our return to Asgard, he will pass judgement. Without—”

Loki trembles. He sets his mug on a coaster—a brightly colored thing with the number ‘6’, the letter ‘C’, and the word ‘Carbon’ printed in a neat, centered column. His hand travels to his chest.

Thor’s hand clenches in a fist. _Without Frigga_. The specter of their mother held Loki’s tongue.

In a rough voice, Loki finishes, “I am bound for the executioner.”

The words drive Thor to his feet.

“No.”

Loki smiles wryly. “You do not possess the power to alter reality, brother. Unless you now intend to absorb the Aether.”

“Loki,” Thor warns.

Loki shrugs. His hand fists Thor’s cape, remaining near his chest. _His wound_. Bile burns Thor’s throat.

Thor closes his eyes and breathes, releasing the knot of anxiety and aggression writhing in the pit of his stomach. His muscles loosen.

He kneels before Loki and places a hand on Loki’s knee. Loki blinks at him. “It’s hurting you.” He nods toward Loki’s breast.

Fury blazes across Loki’s features. “Do not change the subject,” he hisses.

“I will not allow any harm to come to you, Loki.” It comes out louder than Thor intends. “I will not allow your execution. Anyone who dares try will suffer my wrath. Even our father.” Thor tips forward, tears spilling down his cheeks, and rests his forehead between the V of Loki’s crossed calves, nose buried in the couch. “I will protect you. I have missed you. I thought I lost you. I was—I am—a fool.”

Silent sobs rack Thor’s body. He listens to Loki’s breathing. The sound, though uneven, calms him.

Cold fingers brush the knuckles of Thor’s hand on Loki’s knee. Loki squeezes Thor’s wrist.

Loki’s next breath quakes.

“Thor?”

Thor straightens, reluctant. With the hand not on Loki’s knee, he wipes his damp face. He turns to Jane.

Her hair is wet and tied back. She’s wearing sleep clothes. Thor examines her for injuries, ashamed he neglected to do so early due to his single-minded focus on Loki. He notices cuts and bruises, but no serious damage.

“I was going to microwave one of Darcy’s frozen meals. I wanted to see if you need anything. Both of you.” Jane glances at Loki.

“No, thank you. I already helped myself to some of your tea.”

Jane offers a tight-lipped smile. “That’s alright. I prefer coffee, anyway, but I’m living in England, so…” She folds her arms, hugging herself. “Nevermind. Thor?”

“I am not hungry—”

“Yes, he is,” Loki interrupts. “Could you prepare him a frozen meal, as well?”

“Loki,” Thor sighs.

“Thor,” Loki mocks, “You eat like a heard of bilgesnipe after a battle. Stop whining like a child and graciously accept Dr. Foster’s offer.”

Thor glares at Loki, jaw rigid. Loki’s eyes narrow in return.

“You will eat some of the frozen meal, also,” Thor declares. Loki scoffs. “You need sustenance to regain your strength.”

“I’ll microwave a couple meals for the two of you. They only take a few minutes each. I’m going to attempt to sleep after I eat. But don’t think about going anywhere until we talk, Thor.”

“You have my word,” Thor swears, nodding once. “Thank you, Jane. For everything.”

“Thank you for saving the world,” Jane says, opening the freezer.

Warmth blooms beneath Thor’s skin, soothing. He catches Loki’s hand hovering above his and twines their fingers together, mouth stretching into a broad grin.

Loki rolls his eyes. “What do you mean to do with me?”

“Force you to eat.” Loki recoils, then relaxes. It happens in an instant. Thor’s expression falls. He swallows. “I won’t actually force you,” Thor amends. “Loki—”

“Don’t,” Loki snaps, nails biting the back of Thor’s hand. “Answer the question. You claim you will not allow Odin to execute me. Fine. Very noble. Yet, there are worse fates than death.”

“What do you think I should do with you?”

“You are asking your prisoner to decide their fate? Brilliant.”

“I am asking my brother, the person I trust most in all the realms, for advice on how to navigate our precarious situation.”

“Well, to start, I advise you not to trust me.”

Thor’s lips quirk. “You have proven that my trust is not misplaced. Please, Loki. This will not surprise you to hear, but I did not consider anything beyond destroying the Aether and killing Malekith, neither of which went according to my plan.”

“It does not surprise me, no.” Loki frowns. “You should not return to Asgard.”

“I must—”

“Don’t interrupt. Odin would never execute you for treason, but you would not escape unpunished. Then what? You never see Jane again—that much I know before hearing your sentence. Odin either captures and executes me, or I run, pursued by Einherjar. Nothing good comes from you submitting yourself to his judgement.”

“I agree with Loki,” Jane says, setting two plates of unimpressive food on binders and stacks of paper atop the coffee table. “It seems like a bad idea to just go back. And your dad’s grieving—you all are. That can make people do stupid things.”

Thor sits back on his heels. “Heimdall, Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg aided in my treason. I will not escape the consequences of my actions when they could not.”

Loki snorts. “I am certain they will be delighted to watch you pay alongside them.”

Jane pulls up a chair. “Maybe there’s another way?” She eats a forkful from her own plate.

“A better way, by some measures,” Loki agrees, sneering.

Thor bears Loki’s assessing stare, recognizing the challenge.

_You claim to trust me_, Loki says without words.

Behind the test, behind the trepidation within his eyes Loki’s mask does not conceal, Thor sees a familiar glint. He recognizes his brother’s playful, scheming gaze, heralding a grand, cooperative trick.

Thor cannot recall the last time he indulged Loki’s cleverness—allowed Loki to pull him into a misadventure.

Before Thor’s failed coronation, it had not been a matter of distrust. Thor simply forgot how to let Loki lead.

Now…

Loki laid down his life to save Thor—_to save Jane_.

“Let’s hear your plan, brother.”

**Author's Note:**

> 8/22/19: "This was part of an idea for a longer story, but I think it stands on its own and it's unlikely I'll ever write the rest. I enjoy speculative pieces that inspire the reader to imagine their own outcome."
> 
> Well, I meant it when I said it! And it's still unlikely I'll write any more of the story I've conceived! In which case, my deepest apologies for the tease.
> 
> If you're wondering why Loki didn't fight with them, I figure he didn't for a few reasons. First, he died for a bit there. He wasn't in great condition. Second, they're on Midgard. I think it was decided it might cause more harm than good for Loki to be fighting in public.
> 
> [Tumblr](https://foundlingmother.tumblr.com/) | [Dreamwidth](https://foundlingmother.dreamwidth.org/)


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